“Harpooned is a socially conscious shoot ‘em up that puts you at the helm of a Japanese whaling boat. It was created by artist Conor O’Kane as a criticism of the Japanese practice of “scientific whaling.”

The game definitely argues its point well for the most part, and its message is bolstered by the fact that its production is fantastic and the actual gameplay is challenging and fun”

“Internet denizens are going wild over a gory Australian-made video game where players slaughter whales with explosive harpoons.Harpooned invites players to kill the mammals and turn their meat into burgers while avoiding protest ships and icebergs in the oceans around Antarctica.

Despite the violence, fans say the game — which jokingly refers to the fishermen as “Japanese scientists” — carries a powerful anti-whaling message.”

“I don’t like whaling, but I’m the sort to keep it out of mind. Frankly, there are too many other things that need fixing in the world, and I feel sometimes I can only care about so much. But the game succeeds, here, by bringing these issues back to our conscious brain.”

“Ever wanted to play the role of a Japanese science vessel performing “very important research” on Antarctic whales?

You know, that super special type of research that supposedly involves killing and eating them? Yeah, that kind.

If this sounds like you (oh dear), then you should probably check out Harpooned: Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator – unless you’re particularly sensitive to the issue, in which case just ignore the rest of this post, grab an inflatable boat and head south.”

Please Digg Harpooned by clicking the ‘digg it’ link below, so more people will hear about the game.

“New video game allows you to hunt endangered whale species for “scientific research” i.e. to make pet food and burgers. Makes a few poignant statements about the Japanese whaling program along the way.”